Rooting and Flashing Roms for Android

  • Thread starter CMvan46
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CMvan46

CMvan46

2,547
Canada
Vancouver, BC
Okay so I'm just wondering if anybody here has gone about rooting or flashing new Roms on their Android phones.

I've been looking into it a lot lately and I understand the rooting part is extremely easy to do but the part that makes me nervous about doing it is flashing a new rom to the phone.

I'm wanting to do this to speed up the phone and get rid of a bunch of the crapware stuff they put on your phone from the carrier. From what I read the new roms will almost always speed up the phone and increase battery life which makes this quite appealing to me.

Just as a precaution this thread is not to go off topic for anything deemed illegal by law or against the AUP.
 
I am also interested in this, however at the moment the current software is enough for me.

Only thing that would be a problem with the custom ROM is that it would basically void your manufacturer's warranty if you installed it.

Rooting it, shouldn't void it, as far as I understand it.

The tricky thing I found about custom ROMs is that its so variable on the actual phones you have, as some phones have very limited ROMs for them.
 
I am in the same boat as You guys (Xperia X10 owner )I was directed by a member here to the xda developers Forum where I understood alot of things.

I am worried about getting a step wrong though and there is the Possibility of Phone Damage.

Oh and I am also waitting to complete half of the 1 year warranty so I won't root before 2012.
 
I've been on the xda forums searching stuff a ton and yeah I'm just very afraid of bricking my phone. I found a rom that is supposed to be very stable for my phone and improves a lot of things.

My GPS is awful on my phone and apparently it fixes that, battery life increase and less force closes. It seems pretty straight forward with the steps but that's why I came here to see if anybody here had experience with doing this. I just don't want to miss something and end up with a fancy paperweight.
 
What Headset are you using ?

Oh and I really want to get the cyanegon Mod that is if they release the new official one for the X10 which so far seems unlikely
 
I'll try my best to help most of you, I'm not a professional but I have flashed roms on my android phones and have rooted as well.

If you can tell me the name of your phone I'll do a bit of research and help you. Some phones are easier than others.

This is directed at everyone, so if you need help I will try my best to assist you.
 
Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant

I was wanting the cyanogenmod rom too but for my phone apparently 911 doesn't work which is more than a small issue in my opinion.

There was another one I found just this morning but I don't remember the name now. It is suppose to be very stable and can be flashed with the ROM Manager app which I'd think should simplify things a bit.
 
CMvan46
Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant

I was wanting the cyanogenmod rom too but for my phone apparently 911 doesn't work which is more than a small issue in my opinion.

There was another one I found just this morning but I don't remember the name now. It is suppose to be very stable and can be flashed with the ROM Manager app which I'd think should simplify things a bit.
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Just to get some more info. I presume your phone runs on the Bell network? Also your model has a front facing camera. Am I right?
 
RacecarBMW
Just to get some more info. I presume your phone runs on the Bell network? Also your model has a front facing camera. Am I right?
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That's all correct. Model is GT-I900M
 
Hmm okay thanks. I hope to do it soon when I have a day to play around with it incase something goes wrong lol
 
If you want to do a test root and ROMs, you could just buy a cheap Android phone on the market and see how it goes with that?
 
Submerged
If you want to do a test root and ROMs, you could just buy a cheap Android phone on the market and see how it goes with that?
Click to expand...

Only problems with that are that there really aren't any cheap used phones out there. Also each phone is completely unique of every other one so testing on something else wouldn't really be the same unfortunately. Thanks for the suggestion though I'm just afraid it's not too practical for me.
 
Its not whether the software is the same, its more that it will help you to have an better understanding of what is involved when you root and then load a custom ROM.

For example, if you have a computer and you want to install Ubuntu on it, you either format the whole hard drive or you create partitions and then install. Then use it. However (in most cases) if you want to use a different variation of Linux (Slackware, Fedora, Mint, etc), the installation process is generally the same.

Additionally you also get to understand how things work when you change the phone's system. Even though each phone can have variations due to hardware and software requirements, the basic act of installation and using ROMs should be the same, minus some weird reboot/button presses/etc.

Its the experience of using a custom ROM that you are after with any phone to make it a bit easier for you before you use it on your important phone. There are (relatively) cheap Andriod phones out there that can be modified.
 
I took the plunge and rooted my Samsung Galaxy S2 a few months ago. I felt the same as you did wondering if anything bad would happen to the phone! It's been nothing but success so far.

I have to say some guides on the XDA Developer's forum can vary on how clear they are with instructions, but overall it's very easy to do (but does depend on the phone, but I think the Galaxy S is just as easy as my S2). They just can be a bit unfriendly, depending on what root method or ROM you use, if you have any small questions that have been covered multiple times before. But find the right thread and they'll try their best to help you with even the smallest problems.

As with flashing ANYTHING, you always have a risk. Follow the instructions to the word, use a ROM which is very reputable (which is usually pretty much all of them on XDA) and you should come out with no problems. 👍

There's a guy already in here with Galaxy S experience, but if you have any questions feel free to ask - I presume it's a similar process to what I'm used to.

I use VillianROM btw - keeps most of the stock stuff but you can add on/take away stuff afterwards. Luckily unlocked versions/the S2 in general has less bloatware than the previous phone.
 
So, it was relatively easy to follow the process?

Was there any usability difference between the standard ROM and the custom ROM?

Speed difference?

Battery life difference?

Just intrigued on how to make the phone do more, even though I don't actually use it that much.
 
Okay thanks GT. I found a rom on xda which I saved on my laptop but don't remember the name off hand. For it all you had to do was use the ROM manager app and just make sure that when you flash it you choose to wipe the phone which seems pretty simple.

The reviews on it were very good and they all said increased battery life and smoother performance. I use my phone a lot so those are pretty nice improvements. I also have a lot of lag issues and my phone doesn't ever switch to known wifi networks when I walk into them and with my data cap at only 500 mb that has become an issue now and then. Oh and GPS is fixed with that rom which would be awesome because right now mine is useless.
 
Submerged
So, it was relatively easy to follow the process?

Was there any usability difference between the standard ROM and the custom ROM?

Speed difference?

Battery life difference?

Just intrigued on how to make the phone do more, even though I don't actually use it that much.
Click to expand...
For the Galaxy S2, yes it was easy to follow the process. It was using software called Odin to flash the file provided to root the device, then you put the custom ROM you download onto your phone, boot the phone into recovery mode (holding up volume button home button and power button together) and you find the file in there, select it, flash it and you're all done.

It totally depends on the ROM. Mine has no extra functionality because I wanted it to be as stock as possible.

Apparently there was a few speed tweaks here and there but the S2 is so fast anyways I probably didn't notice. On smaller less powerful phones like the Wildfire (which is riddled with bugs and lag issues) it should make a considerable difference.

Battery life, again depends on the ROM. You're never going to see a big improvement. One of the main issues of Android is that it doesn't make it clear that in the end the biggest difference you can make with your battery is how you use your phone: how many apps you leave open, leaving GPS on, screen on high brightness, etc, will all drain battery. You can download battery monitors and app killers from the store to help you out.

It all depends on the ROM you download to add (or take away) what functionality you want your phone to have. It just involves a bit of research into what you want.

CMvan46
Okay thanks GT. I found a rom on xda which I saved on my laptop but don't remember the name off hand. For it all you had to do was use the ROM manager app and just make sure that when you flash it you choose to wipe the phone which seems pretty simple.

The reviews on it were very good and they all said increased battery life and smoother performance. I use my phone a lot so those are pretty nice improvements. I also have a lot of lag issues and my phone doesn't ever switch to known wifi networks when I walk into them and with my data cap at only 500 mb that has become an issue now and then. Oh and GPS is fixed with that rom which would be awesome because right now mine is useless.
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That all sounds good to me. Just make sure before you wipe the phone to back up anything important from it, like contacts, messages or anything that maybe an inconvenience to add back into the phone.

If there are any other backups they recommend you do, DO them. It will give you an option to revert back to your previous phone state if your phone doesn't boot or function properly after the ROM is flashed - in the very small case that could happen.
 
Yep I knew that. I plan on using titanium backup to backup all the apps and stuff if I'm reading what it does correctly. I'll also be doing the full stock rom backup with the clockwork recovery that comes with the ROM manager app.
 
Hey guys i've been looking at this for a while, there seems to be a lot of options out there. Can anyone suggest a good method for my phone.
It's a Galaxy S model no: GT-I9000 I basically just want to improve the speed/lag and get rid or the bloatware.

Cheers Shaun.
 
I want to root my Phone cause S.E stopped their Support at the Gingerbread Update ,and it is a bit Laggy .

Oh and G.T if you didn't gain anything by rooting then sorry for the obvious noob question but what is the Point in rooting /Noob
 
sems4arsenal
I want to root my Phone cause S.E stopped their Support at the Gingerbread Update ,and it is a bit Laggy .

Oh and G.T if you didn't gain anything by rooting then sorry for the obvious noob question but what is the Point in rooting /Noob
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Rooting is actually very useful if you know what you want. Thinking of rooting as gaining administrator access. That is actually exactly what rooting is. Android is based off of linux and in the Linux world root is like administrator.

So why is it useful for android? Well it can let you run apps that are usually not permitted.
Forexample on my rooted Xperia play I have an ad blocking program that is not allowed to be installed, I have CPU scaling program that lets me underclock my phone to save battery, I have a special file browser that lets me back up files that are off limits when not rooted, I can remove all the bloat applications that came with my phone. These are just scratching the surface.
 
RacecarBMW
Rooting is actually very useful if you know what you want. Thinking of rooting as gaining administrator access. That is actually exactly what rooting is. Android is based off of linux and in the Linux world root is like administrator.

So why is it useful for android? Well it can let you run apps that are usually not permitted.
Forexample on my rooted Xperia play I have an ad blocking program that is not allowed to be installed, I have CPU scaling program that lets me underclock my phone to save battery, I have a special file browser that lets me back up files that are off limits when not rooted, I can remove all the bloat applications that came with my phone. These are just scratching the surface.
Click to expand...
Wow I never knew rooting can give you that much control over your Phone.
I am now really hooked and someone very Kind at the XDA developers have Posted a video on everything I need to root and install the cyanegon mod on the X10 .I haven't checked in a while but I hope the new version of the Mod is now available for the x10 last I heard they were having issues.:nervous:
 
I'm thinking of taking the plunge tonight if I get some time. I just found out that they are now selling the Samsung Gio up here for $100 with no contact as a prepaid phone on Bell. I know I can switch that on to my plan if I needed to plus I'm fairly sure it comes with a $50 Bell credit.

Submerged you were right although I'll use the Gio as a backup plan on the event I screw something up.
 
If You are then let us know mate .Good luck oh and read the instructions carefuly amd take your time.
 
sems4arsenal
Wow I never knew rooting can give you that much control over your Phone.
I am now really hooked and someone very Kind at the XDA developers have Posted a video on everything I need to root and install the cyanegon mod on the X10 .I haven't checked in a while but I hope the new version of the Mod is now available for the x10 last I heard they were having issues.:nervous:
Click to expand...

Well if all you want is root than that is very easy, Flashing roms is much harder. I think to root the X10 all you have to do is install 1 application that roots it for you. I'll double check, Are you on Android 2.1 or 2.2?

CMvan46
I'm thinking of taking the plunge tonight if I get some time. I just found out that they are now selling the Samsung Gio up here for $100 with no contact as a prepaid phone on Bell. I know I can switch that on to my plan if I needed to plus I'm fairly sure it comes with a $50 Bell credit.

Submerged you were right although I'll use the Gio as a backup plan on the event I screw something up.
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Also if you can tell me what version of Android your Galaxy S is running it would be the same situation as above. The 911 problem was only for custom roms, rooting does not affect that at all.


Rooting is much safer and easier than flashing a custom rom.
 
It's on 2.3.3 and the yeah I do know a fair bit about this after how much I've read.

Rooting (for almost all phones) is just one application called Super One Click.... atleast I think that's what it was called.

The 911 issue I believe was only isolated to the cyanogenmod for the Galaxy S. Unless you've seen otherwise? Does the 911 issue apply to all custom roms?
 
CMvan46
It's on 2.3.3 and the yeah I do know a fair bit about this after how much I've read.

Rooting (for almost all phones) is just one application called Super One Click.... atleast I think that's what it was called.

The 911 issue I believe was only isolated to the cyanogenmod for the Galaxy S. Unless you've seen otherwise? Does the 911 issue apply to all custom roms?
Click to expand...

I believe superoneclick doesn't work for 2.3.3 anymore. You should try using the application Gingerbreak.
 
I am on Gingerbread now oh amd Yes I forgot to mention I want install the Cyanegon mod as well.
 

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